The social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, reportedly instituted a delay on links directing users to the websites of major news outlets such as Reuters and the New York Times, along with competitors like Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram. This information came to light in a report by the Washington Post on Tuesday.
The delay, which lasted approximately five seconds, obstructed access to the affected webpages when a user clicked on the links from X. The Washington Post conducted tests revealing that Reuters experienced a similar lag during its evaluations.
By Tuesday afternoon, the delay on X appeared to have been lifted. Although the platform acknowledged the removal of the delay upon being contacted, it did not provide further details.
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X who acquired the platform in October, has a history of criticizing news organizations and journalists who report unfavorably about his enterprises, which include Tesla and SpaceX. Previously, X had also restricted users from sharing links to competing social media networks.
As of now, it is unclear when X initially began to impose delays on links to certain websites.
A user on the tech forum Hacker News indicated that this delay started on August 4, a day when Musk publicly criticized the New York Times for its coverage regarding South Africa, claiming it supported calls for genocide. However, Reuters has found no evidence linking these remarks to the onset of the delays.
A spokesperson for the New York Times mentioned that the publication has yet to receive any clarification from X regarding the delay. “While we don’t know the rationale behind the application of this time delay, we would be concerned by targeted pressure applied to any news organization for unclear reasons,” the spokesperson stated on Tuesday.
In response to the Washington Post’s report, a representative from Reuters said, “We are aware of the report regarding a delay in opening links to Reuters stories on X. We are looking into the matter.”
Bluesky, which competes with X and features former Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey on its board, has not responded to requests for comment.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, did not immediately provide a statement regarding the situation.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
